Turnbull Government strikes deal with gas exporters

Turnbull Government strikes deal with gas exporters

Fears of an energy crisis in NSW and Victoria have been put to rest after the Government stuck a deal with Australia’s largest gas exporters.

In a meeting with the heads of Shell, Origin and Santos this morning, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull repeated his threat to restrict gas exports unless they increased their domestic supplies.

The meeting was arranged after the energy market regulator and Australian Competition and Consumer Comission (ACCC) warned the risk of gas shortages was three times worse than initially expected.

During an address to the media, Mr Turnbull said the top three gas exporters “have given us a guarantee that they will offer to the domestic market the gas that was identified as the expected demand shortfall by AEMO [the Australian Energy Market Operator] in 2018.”

The exporters’ executives agreed to make up the shortages for the next two years.